Thursday, January 30, 2014

Michelle Obama: rescuer-in-chief? -- Jan. 30, 2014 column

By MARSHA MERCER

President Barack Obama says that from
now on he’ll do the chief executive thing his way -- with Congress if possible,
without Congress when necessary.

And what about Michelle Obama? Scorned
as a “feminist nightmare” by Politico last November because she has focused on
fitness, health and gardening instead of elbowing her way into policy fights,
what’s her next step?

This just might be the year the first
lady rescues her husband from terminal lame duck status by showing him how to
work around Congress and, more importantly, by helping Democrats get elected in
November’s congressional midterm elections.

In his State of the Union address
Tuesday night, Obama praised his wife’s Let’s Move project as a model for how
he now intends to get things done without congressional support.

“As usual, our first lady sets a good
example,” he said. “Michelle’s Let’s Move partnership with schools, businesses
and local leaders has helped bring down childhood obesity rates for the first
time in 30 years – an achievement that will improve lives and reduce health
care costs for decades to come.”

It was a canny comparison not only because the first
lady is more popular than the president but because Let’s Move is effective without
being threatening. Obama was telegraphing the folks at home that his plan to
act unilaterally by executive order is nothing to be afraid of – despite what
his critics say.

Michelle Obama may be the fourth most powerful woman
in the world, according to Forbes magazine, but she still seems more
mom-in-chief than power player. There’s no Michellecare the way health care
reform was Hillarycare in the Clinton years. Forbes ranks Obama behind Angela
Merkel, chancellor of Germany; Dilma Rousseft, president of Brazil, and Melinda
Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Hillary Clinton is
fifth on the list.

Michelle Obama often gets more news coverage for her
hair and clothes than for her views and actions. Fashion writers loved the dark
green dress and jacket she chose for the State of the Union. In wearing the
ensemble by Azzedine Alaia, she was giving the Tunisian-born, Paris-based
designer a business boost. New York University
finance professor David Yermack calculated in a 2010 study that when Mrs. Obama
wears an outfit, she creates $14 million in added value for the lucky designer.

I’d like to see her wear American designers –
especially on a night when her husband is touting Made in America products. A
least the ensemble wasn’t brand new: She’d worn it for a "Nightline” interview
and White House tour with Barbara Walters in December 2012.

After the State of the Union, the Obamas hit the
road in opposite directions. He set out for Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
and Tennessee to build support for his policies. She went on a three-day trip,
prospecting for campaign gold in California.

In the Los Angeles home of Phil Rosenthal, creator
of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Mrs. Obama warned that her husband wouldn’t be
able to achieve his goals if both houses of Congress go to Republican control
in November.

“Let’s be clear: Barack cannot do this alone sitting
by himself in the Oval Office,” she said, according to news reports. “So make
no mistake about it, it matters who is elected to represent us in Washington.
It matters.”

She urged about a crowd of about 200 to “write a
big, fat check.” The guests, who included Barbra Streisand and her husband James
Brolin, paid as much as $32,400 each to attend the fundraiser benefiting the
Democratic National Committee.

Most analysts say the House is likely to remain in
Republican hands and the Senate – where six seats could shift the balance -- could
go either way. Michelle Obama warned that the health law would be repealed and
same-sex marriage threatened if Republicans were in charge on Capitol Hill.

“You can write a check, do you hear me?” she told
the crowd, the Los Angeles Times reported. “That’s what you need to do; I’m
serious. Write a big, fat check. Write the biggest check you can possibly
write.”

That’s one way to fight economic inequality and
redistribute wealth. The night’s event reportedly brought in nearly $700,000
for the Democratic Party.